Girlfight: After the Fight
by AngelDevilChica
Summary: First ever fan fiction! based on Girlfight staring Michelle Rodriguez and Santiago Douglass. What happened after the movie ended. Did Diana make up with her dad. Did she finally convince Adrian to sleep with her? Lemons! Please help make me better, reviw!
1. Damn Right Cross

Damn Right Cross!

_...jab right, jab right, duck, right hook, upper cut…_

My brain issued the orders and my body followed through.

_Power, control, control the power. _

Harry said nothing, but the words were etched in, completely. I wouldn't ever be able to forget.

"Hey baby." I heard Adrian's voice.

I stopped.

"Hector? Can I take a break?" I asked

"5 minutes." He agreed turning to leave.

_Adrian!_ The voice in my head reminded me.

"Hey." I said turning to him, watching him climb in the ring with me

The last time we were in the ring together, he lost, I won, and we both were heart broken.

"Let's go" He joked holding up his gloves for me to hit.

"You excited to get beat again?" I asked

He laughed, "No, I'm excited to spank you're wise ass for talking like that."

"Oh really? Traelo papi" (Bring It) I said laughing

He hit my gloves and came at me, jabbing with his left. I practiced my combinations hitting him in the face, my right hook knocking him back.

"You and that hook." He said working his jaw trying to ease the definite pain.

Coming at me again with a powerful jab, followed by a very powerful uppercut, he managed to stagger me and slow me down.

_Endurance, you must endure the pain in order to be the best. _The voice spoke

I took a deep breath and heeded the voices warning and braced myself, but not fast enough for his right cross, I hit the mat seeing stars.

"Oh shit baby, I'm sorry!" he said dropping to my side while I caught my breath.

"That god damn right cross." I cursed

"I didn't mean to hit you that hard, I just… forgot." He said 

"I'm fine, that was a really good one." I said sitting up

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I laughed, then put on my scowl, "but you ever hit me like that outside the ring, I'll fucking kill you."

He looked at me, I saw it for only a split second, the fear of him actually loosing it, getting mad at me and hitting me. I know he would never, but I'm not sure if he knows.

"Never." He said swinging his arm back and making me lay on my back. He straddled me and pinned my arms to the floor. The last time we were like this, it was pretty intense, now it was just fun.

"What you think you're all big and bad 'cause you're on top?" I asked smugly

"Nah, I think I'm big and bad because I am." He teased

I laughed, he was crazy.

_Kiss him. _The voice ordered, and I obeyed

Slow, our kisses always started slow, but they always grew hungry. It was like once we got a taste, we couldn't get enough. He was always gentle with me though, he let me decide what I wanted, he never pushed, never made me feel forced. He was always gentle.

"Oye!" Hector shouted, "Do I need to get the water hose, or can you two control your hormones?"

I jumped at his voice, quickly scrambling out from under Adrian.

"Sorry Hector." I said blushing, making both Age and Hector laugh.

"What did I say about personal business in the gym?" Hector laughed

"None of it was allowed." Adrian spoke up. "We're sorry Hector, it won't happen again."

"Good, your coach is looking for you so I suggest you get a move on." Hector replied

Adrian turned to me "gotta go, got work to do." He said before taking off

"You know, it's not fair for you to be scaring him off all the time like that." I said laughing

"Yeah? Well it's not all that fair for you to be wasting our session nearly getting yourself knocked up on my clean mats." He joked

"That's nasty, I'm like 18 Hector, I ain't having' no kids any time soon." I said scowling at him.

"Let's go through it one more time." He said climbing into the ring with me.


	2. Hasta La Muerte

Hasta La Muerte

"You did good today Mija. Monday at 5, we'll lift weights and see if we can't put some strength in those chopsticks for arms." Hector said as we walked towards the door.

Hector was the best, and he seemed to love to train me. We would start at 5 and sometimes not leave until well after 10. Always we were the last ones out of the gym door, his arm around my neck talking to me like I was his kid. These days I spoke to Hector more than my own father.

_Your papi loves you, ya know? _ The voice said

Obviously not that much, cause he's no where to be found.

"You got a way home?" Hector asked me

"Yeah, Hector, I'll take her home." Adrian said. I hadn't even seen his car pull up but he seemed to have just gotten there.

"You sure?" Hector asked

"I'll be fine." I said laughing. "If he pulls anything funny I'll just kick his ass again, it's all good."

Both men laughed at me, knowing that if Adrian tried something it was more than likely that I wouldn't resist.

"Bye Hector!" I called out as we drove down the street

"So tell me?" Adrian said when we got to a stop light, "How do you and Hector manage to be the first ones in and the last ones out all the time?"

"He says that I gotta train twice as hard as the guys if I wanna be taken seriously." I answered looking out the window.

"And you wanna fight guys?" He asked

"Maybe."

"Why, why not just fight the girls, that would be easier." He said

"I wanna fight the best out there, and if the best out there is a chick then I wanna fight her, if it's a guy then ima fight him too." I said finally looking at him.

"You amaze me sometimes Diana." He said taking my hand in his.

"Yeah? I asked, how do I amaze you?" I asked

"You would rather bust your ass twice as hard as every other guy out there then just fight girls and be known as the best chick fighter out there." He said smiling

"Yeah well I know I sound nuts but I have more fun fighting guys." I laughed

We rode for a while in silence laughing when we caught the other staring. Before long we were in front of my building.

"You know I was thinking..." He started

"Yeah, and…?" I asked

"Well I was thinking that you and me, we should go into the city this weekend, since you know neither of us have fights and all. It's almost Christmas and I thought we could spend then weekend in NYC if ya wanted." He explained

"I'd like that, but where're we gonna get the kinda cash a weekend in Manhattan would cost huh?" I said laughing

"My brother sent me 5g's told me to do something special for the holidays, plus Calvin rented a hotel room at the Plaza hotel for the weekend and can't make it. Asked me if I wanted to use it?" He chuckled

"You being serious with me?" I asked him

"Yeah baby I'm being straight up." He laughed getting out of the car and walking towards the door with me.

"Well I guess it could be pretty cool, we could leave around noon tomorrow." I said laughing

"Yeah that sounds good." He agreed, "You want me to walk you upstairs?" He asked

"You wanna box with my father?" I asked sarcastically

"The way you talk about him, and the things you tell me he does to you and Tiny, I might actually enjoy it." He said his voice turning serious

"I can handle my self, and anything my father says or does." I said backing away from him, but he only pulled me back into his arms, wrapped around my waist possessively.

"I know you can, but you shouldn't have to. It pisses me off when he beats on you, he don't need to be hitting you and saying that shit, three weeks ago he said you were worthless, when he found out about us he called you a whore, you tell him you beat me he calls you a filthy lesbian. You take so much crap from him Diana, and it pisses me off." He said

_He's right you know, you shouldn't take Papi's shit._

"Well there ain't a damn thing I can do to make him stop saying it." I grumbled

"Not unless you and Tiny move out." He said and I looked at him like he was nuts.

"Yeah right, and where the hell do you think we would go?" I asked

"When I go pro, we can move into a suite in the city, and Tiny can come live with us, and we'll be all set." He said

_Is he serious? Or did that god damn Calvin hit him a little too hard this time? _

"That sounds real good Adrian," I said laughing, then I saw his watch, "Oh shit!"

"What's wrong baby?" He asked

"It's after mid-night, my dad's gonna have a fit." I sighed

"Should I just take you to my place now and save you the run?" He asked only half joking.

It sort of became custom for me to run all the way to Adrian's in the middle of the night after one of my fights with my dad. Age knew it was gonna happen, but I knew that walking in to face the music now was better than walking in tomorrow morning.

"Nah, if I don't show up, he'll only be more pissed, plus I don't want Tiny home with him while he's drinking." I said

"You sure?" He asked

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I said

"Call my cell before you come darting over to my place, I'll come get you." He offered knowing it was inevitable, I'd be at his place within the next two hours.

"Yeah, okay." I agreed.

With a quick kiss he turned towards the car and I walked inside.

The 11th floor wasn't that far up. In fact it took me about two minutes to get there sprinting up the stairs and into my apartment.

"I see the pendejo is still around huh?" My father asked the moment the door was closed.

"Adrian's a good guy dad. He's going places, and I like that okay? Not that it's any of your god damn business." I said ready for the fight

"You need to learn to show me some fucking respect Diana, I'm still your father." He slurred

"Yeah, really? 'Cause last time I checked biology didn't make you a father. You lost any right to run my life when you were beating my mother six feet under." I snapped

"You're nothing but a worthless whore, I bet that boy doesn't even like you, I bet he just hangs around you 'cause your easy, spread like butter don't you Mija. Nothing but a dirty slut and a disgrace to this family." He leered at me

"You don't know anything about him, you think you're so tough beating on your 15 year old son and your 18 year old daughter, yeah right. If any one in this house is worth nothing its you, you're a worthless murderer, and you know it too. Is that why you drink all the time huh papi? Because you're afraid that if you stay sober too long you might actually feel bad for what you did to our family. You're pathetic, and one day when you're burning in hell I hope she takes a nice long piss on your face from up in heaven." I shouted.

I should have seen it coming, the flash of anger in his eyes should have been a dead give away. Unfortunately he was fast. In seconds before I even knew what was going on he'd cracked the beer bottle over my head and the pain was horrible. I swung and connected with his jaw and he slapped me across the face so hard I saw stars as I fell to the ground, he threw his empty bottles at me cutting my hands and arms as they cracked on my skin.

"PAPI STOP!" Tiny screamed pushing him back into the armchair

"Diana go to your room." Tiny told me before turning to my fuming father trying to calm him.

I locked the door behind me and dug in my back pack for my cell. I could feel the cuts on my neck and arms searing and taste the blood in my mouth. Hands shaking, I dialed Adrian as the tears began to fall.

"Hello?" He said his voice thick with sleep.

"Adrian." I nearly whispered

"Diana? Diana baby what's wrong?" he asked

I swallowed hard.

_Don't cry Diana, you're stronger than that._ The voice soothed the tears to a stop

"Can you come and get me?" I asked softly

"Yeah," He said instantly, I could hear him shuffling around, "don't move I'll be there in ten."

"Thank you." I said before hanging up

I grabbed my back pack and began stuffing my things for the night and next morning into it. I heard Tiny leading my drunken father to his bed room and locking the door. Then came Tiny's knocks on my door.

"Diana?" he asked, "Can I come in for a second?" He asked

"Yeah." I said opening the door for him.

"You're gonna need this in the morning." He said tossing me a bottle of Tylenol, which I quickly tossed into my bag. "You might need this too." He said tossing me a stack of hundreds that I knew was from dad's drawer.

"He'll kill you if he finds out." I said looking at the money.

"He won't and even if he does I won't be home this weekend, I'm going with Jose and Carlos to New Jersey. They wanna go see some fighters there and Mr. Medina has offered to take us. You to are on your own this weekend." He said

"No, we aren't" I said, "I'm going into the city, Adrian wants to see the city for Christmas so we figured we'd spend the weekend in Manhattan. When are you coming back?" I asked

"Should be back Sunday, you?" He replied

"Sunday night, maybe Monday, I'm not real sure." I answered

"Well then he should calm down a little." He laughed bitterly.

Just as I was about to speak I heard Adrian's car pull up. Don't ask how I know it was him, I just do.

"Gotta go Tiny." I said kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." He said hugging me quick before helping me climb out onto the fire escape.

I slid down the ladder fast and walked over to Adrian.

"What the…" He said taking one look at me. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked

"Long story." Was my only reply.

I could tell he wanted more information, but I didn't want to talk yet, and he knew it, so he left it alone. We got in his car and tore off towards his complex, arriving in less then five minutes.

"My parents went to a movie down town, they're not gonna be home for a while." He said as he opened the door to the apartment.

"You think I could use your bathroom to get cleaned up?" I asked

"Yeah, I'm gonna get some peroxide and help you clean those cuts, and looks like I gotta find something to wrap your knuckles too." He laughed a little and I smiled

I walked to the bathroom and pulled off my shirt and looked in the mirror. I'd looked worse, just a few cuts, and the hand print on my face. I needed a shower though, and some sleep.

"Lemme see your hand." Adrian said coming into the bathroom.

"It's fine, it just needs to be washed." I said

"It may be fine now, but when you gotta go to the gym and hit the bag it's gonna hurt like a bitch, the last thing you want is for Hector to think you've been out street fighting." He said taking my right hand and wiping it with the peroxide.

"Fuck that stings." I growled

"I know, I know, just hold on." He said soothingly. He taped my hand up and moved on to the cuts on my arms. The sting went away after a while and soon I was all cleaned up.

"Lemme see your face baby." He said to me

He turned my head and rubbed the reddened mark.

"Baby, you can't keep doing this." He said wrapping me in his arms.

"He's such a prick to everyone around him, I don't know why the hell me and tiny even try to please him." I growled

"You and Tiny should get out of that house, you're 18, he can't keep hitting on you like that." Adrian was trying hard not to, but he was starting to make me angry

"Tiny's only 15, I can't leave him there on his own." I snapped

"What about the insults he comes up with, what was it this time?" He asked

"If I tell you, you'll go all macho and try to do something to him that could end you up in a lot of trouble." I said

"I won't do anything to him. I promise." He said looking me dead in the face.

"He said you only stay with me 'cause I'm easy, and that I must have to spread like butter to keep you."

"You believe him?" he asked me.

_Do you? _The voice asked

Did I? that was a damn good question. One I never wanted to answer, but still a good question.

"I don't think so." I said quietly.

"He doesn't know what he's saying Diana. You know that it's not true. You know that I…" He trailed off

"That you what?" I asked him, "What?"

"Nothing forget it, you should take a shower and come to bed. It's late." He said before leaving me alone in the bathroom.

I took a shower and changed into my sweatpants and a wifebeater and brushed out my hair, carful of my braids. I turned off my cell after sending Tiny a quick text goodnight, and packed my stuff into my bag.

"You awake?" I asked as I stepped into Adrian's room

"Yeah, I'm waiting for you." He replied scooting over to make room as I crawled into his bed.

"You know, I sleep really well when I'm here, normally I'm a light sleeper, but not when I sleep here." I said laying my head on his bear chest.

"Yeah? Why is that?" he asked pulling me closer to him

"I can hear your heartbeat." I said ignoring his question.

"What does it sound like?" he asked

"A heart." I said stating the obvious

"No shit. Put your hand on it." He ordered and I obliged, "Can you feel it?" He asked

"Yeah, I can feel it." I said

"Good, keep your hand there okay, and tell me when it changes."

Slowly he leaned into me, kissing me with a smoldering passion that made my mind blur.

_Holy Shit! _ Screamed the voice. _He's amazing, he's perfection, he's, he's..._

Even the voice ran out of words to say. He was pouring on the passion now, and that's when I realized it. His hear pounding, so fast and so hard his chest was nearly vibrating.

"Holy Shit!" I exclaimed pulling away

"Did you feel it?" he asked me?

"Yeah." I answered

"You know you're the only girl I've ever met who can make my heart race like that." He said

"What about Carina?" I asked

"She didn't make my heart race, she made my blood race, but that's a different type of reaction." He laughed

"That's nasty." I chuckled

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, get some sleep okay?" He said turning out the light

"Goodnight." I said

"Goodnight." He replied, I started to slip into dreamland when I heard him whisper the most wonderful thing I'd ever heard. "I love you" He said, "Te amo, hasta la muerte."


	3. The Concrete Jungle

**A/N: Okay guys this one is REALLY long, and i would really like to get some critisism on it, let me know if you love it, hate it, whatever. Help me become a better writer please :) thanks**

* * *

The Concrete Jungle

I woke up to the sun shining through the window.

"Adrian?" I said hoping his parents weren't out in the kitchen

I walked out the door and made my way to the kitchen quietly.

_Please let that be Adrian in the kitchen and not his mother! _I prayed silently as I stepped into the tiny kitchen.

"Hey." I said after I saw it was Adrian standing at the stove.

"Morning sleeping beauty." He teased

"Whatcha makin'?" I asked

"Sausage and Eggs." He said turning back to the stove, "Sit down, breakfast is almost done, you eat, and I'll get my stuff ready for the weekend."

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked him

"Not much of a breakfast person, I can't be eating a ton of carbs if I want to stay in my weight." He laughed

Adrian had to nearly starve to stay a feather weight, and I had to eat like a glutton and work out to build muscle just to become a feather weight. It was kinda funny

"So we really gonna go to NYC?" I asked smirking at him

"Yeah girl what'd you think I was all talk and no action?" He asked me

"I was starting to, after all you said you were a killer boxer, and I heard you got spanked by some little pussy." I teased

"Nah, it wasn't no pussy, this chick was hard core, and it wasn't fair, her body was bangin' so hard I couldn't help but stare, and every time I did, she would come at me with her killer right hook, nearly knocked my head off." He said putting a plate full of food in front of me.

"What the hell is this chicks name, so I can beat the shit out of her for making you look at her body?" I laughed

"That's something you may never find out." He smirked before walking down the hall.

I had to hand it to him, he was a damn good cook. Normally my dad made me cook in the house, he felt that I was the woman and so I should wait on him and Tiny. Unfortunately he didn't have a powder puff for a daughter so my cooking wasn't exactly gourmet. There were some things I could cook well, like Spanish rice, and most Latino dished, but eggs and bacon, or pasta, was not my forte. Adrian on the other hand made the best breakfast I'd had in a long time. His eggs unlike mine didn't taste like rubber, and the sausage was nice and juicy instead of burnt to a crisp. He was a pretty good cook from the looks of it, too bad he couldn't eat any of it.

I finished my food and washed the dishes that were in the sink. Adrian's mom was a nurse who worked all kinds of crazy hours, so I know that after going out with her husband, and working all week long, the last thing she wanted to do on her Friday off was dishes. I laughed a little at the irony of it all, I was at Adrian's place almost once a week, and yet I'd only met his mother on two occasions, and never had I met his father. His parents were only down the hall from us, and I barely knew them.

"You ready to go baby?" Adrian asked. He was dressed in jeans and a muscle shirt topped with a letterman jacket that I guessed was from his high school days.

"I still gotta change, and then I gotta swing by my place to grab some stuff for the weekend." I said walking towards his room.

"Okay, make sure you remember a jacket, a thick one, the city is cold Diana it ain't like Brooklyn." He said

"Okay." I called back as I began to change pulling my wifebeater and sports bra over my head and grabbing my bra and clipping it in the back. I grabbed a long sleeved pink tank that clung to my thin frame, Marisol had seen them and gotten me one in every color they had, they weren't my usual baggy style, but they kept me warm when it was cold out so I didn't complain. It was getting colder now, so I had to trade cargo pants for jeans and sweats simply because they were warmer. Wiggling into a pair of jeans I looked in the mirror, I looked like such a girl dressed like this, it was different than normal, especially if I left my hair down.

"You ready?" Adrian asked as I walked back out into the hall, backpack slung over one shoulder boots in the other.

"Yeah, lets get a move on." I said following him out the door and down to the car.

He threw his duffel into the trunk before he hopped in to the drivers seat.

"Hey Age?" I said as he moved to start the car

"Yeah?" he said

"You think you could teach me how to drive?" I asked him

"You don't know how?" he asked confused

"No. When we get back from the city, can you teach me?" I asked

"Sure, we'll do it next Sunday, that way you can go get your drivers license by the end of December." He said with a smile

"Thanks." I laughed

We arrived at my place a little later and Adrian waited in the living room with Tiny while I packed my things. Luckily dad wasn't home, so Adrian didn't have a reason to go ballistic.

I sorted through the different things I had in my small closet. Grabbing three "Marisol shirts" as I had decided to call them in black, blue, and green. I threw them into a duffel bag, with a few colored wife beaters to throw over them in order to make them look "fashionable" on Marisol's request. I grabbed a pair of black sweats and a purple wife beater and sports bra to sleep in and threw those in the bag too. Next went a few pairs of jeans and my toiletries, I gave up on sorting through my back pack and stuffed it into the duffel as well. I grabbed my black coat from the back of the closet and headed out to the living room. To where I could hear Adrian and Tiny talking.

"Why do they call you Tiny?" Age asked

"Cause my mom thought it made a cute nick name." Tiny shrugged a little.

"What's your first name then?" Adrian questioned

"Javier." I said stepping into the living room. "He's named after my mami's brother, they used to call him biggie, so my mom thought it would be funny to call my brother Tiny." I explained

"Oh." Adrian nodded, content with the answer.

"You gonna behave for Mr. Medina right, and nothing stupid or illegal huh?" I said to Tiny

"Yes Diana, and you better not come home pregnant 'cause dad would flip his shit for sure." Tiny teased me

"Shut up before I teach you how to really box." I laughed

"Just gimmie a hug and go to Manhattan." He rolled his eyes

I pulled him into me and kissed his cheek.

"Have fun bro." I said to him

"You to, and don't forget that I'm open to any Christmas presents you buy me with the money I gave you." He joked

"I'll see what I can find." I said before closing the apartment door.

"NYC here we come!" I cheered as we entered Manhattan a few hours later. It had been a long drive full of stories and laughs, but my legs were starting to cramp and my fidgeting was about to reach a new level.

"Yup shouldn't be long now, maybe a few more minutes." Age laughed at my dramatics

"You know I can't remember the last time I've been to this part of New York." I said

"last time I was here I was a freshman in high school, business was going well for my father so he brought us down here for the new years eve block party thing. It was pretty awesome." He smiled

"Last time I can remember being in the city was when my mom and I came here for my 7th birthday, she brought me to the zoo in central park, 'cause at the time I was going through an animal lover phase." I said dreamily

"How old were you when she passed?" He asked

"I was eight, Tiny was five, he barely remembers her." I said looking out my window and watching New York City pass slowly as we crawled through traffic towards the plaza hotel.

"Why'd she do it?" He asked

"She wanted to get away from him," I sighed hard. "He used to hit her, beat her actually, the things he does to me are transparent in comparison to what he did to her. She used to ask him not to do it in front of us, because she didn't want us to see him like that, but he never listened. Late at night Tiny would crawl into my bed and we'd listen to him beating her, he tried to drown her in the tub once, and he would flush her head down the toilet and then laugh. She was so sick of it, any one who saw her could tell. She took a whole bottle of sleeping pills one night before she went to bed, and she never woke up the next morning. In a way, I was happy for her, she freed herself, I just wish she didn't leave us behind to deal with him."

"You shouldn't have to, I'm sorry about your mom, I know how much living with out a mother must hurt." He said trying to soothe me.

"No, you don't. Your mom is amazing Adrian, she busts her ass for you, your so lucky." I said.

"I know I am, and one of these days I'm gonna make her proud and do the one thing she's always wanted to see me do." He said matter of factly

"What's that?" I asked

"Get married, she always said she wanted to see me and my brother get married and meet her grand kids before she died." He said making me flash one of my rare smiles, the one Hector calls my winners circle smile, and Tiny says looks like the light coming out of a hundred watt bulb.

We pulled up to the hotel a few minutes later grabbing our things from the trunk, Adrian tossed the keys to the valet and walked towards the check out counter.

"Hello and welcome to the Plaza, may I assist you with check in, sir?" The peppy blonde woman behind the check in desk asked

"I have a suite reserved under the name Calvin Diego." He said pulling a folded stack of papers out of his letterman pocket.

"Do you and your lady have any bags that you would like us to assist you with?" the blonde chirped

"No." Adrian said

"Alright then, here are your card keys, please enjoy your stay at the Plaza hotel." She smiled

Adrian took the keys and led me towards the elevator, we were on the 17th floor and the ride up was crowded. We walked down to our room opening the door to the most beautiful room I'd ever seen, it had a kitchenette on one side and a living room on the other, and if you walked through the double doorway you found the most beautiful bedroom I had ever seen!

"Damn look at the size of this place!" I said dropping my bag at on the floor and walking around a little.

"It's bigger then my whole apartment in here!" He said sounding like a little kid I a toy store.

"I think we should stay here forever." I joked

"I know what you mean!" He laughed

I opened the doors to the bedroom and laughed, Adrian and I were street kids, we would never be able to stay in a place like this, even if we moved out of queens we would never want something this extravagant, we wouldn't know what to do with it. I would loose my mind if I lived in a place like this.

"Damn I wish Tiny could see this, he would flip his shit!"

"I'm flipping mine." Adrian said joining me in the bedroom.

"So what do you wanna do first?" He asked

"What's there to do at 3 o'clock in the afternoon around here?" I asked

"We could go and look for a present for your brother," He offered, "or we could go ice skating in Rockefeller center. We could just walk around for a while and see what catches our eye."

"I guess I wanna check out the shops maybe." I said

Tiny's 16th birthday was on the 19th of December, and I wanted to make sure that I got him something special. For my 16th birthday Tiny bought me a model 1967 Charger, it was a car I had seen in a magazine and wanted more than anything, but I knew that my dad would never buy it for me. Tiny knew how bad I wanted one, so he skipped boxing sessions for a month to pay for the model. It was the best present I had ever gotten, and now that his 16th was coming up, it was my turn to return the favor. The only problem was that Tiny would never say that he wanted something, and if he did, he never let it on.

"Okay, let's got then." Said Adrian grabbing my hand and leading me back out of the room.

"I have no clue what the fuck to get for Tiny!" I grumbled as we walked out of another store in Times Square.

We had been shopping around for almost two hours and I had yet to see something that Tiny would like. Adrian had found a gift for each member of his family, me on the other hand found didly squat.

"You said he likes books and stuff, and that he likes to draw?" Adrian asked

"Yeah, but I can't find a thing that he would like," I said bummed out

"Well what about that store over there?" He said pointing to a small gallery looking shop.

"What the hell, that was not there 20 minutes ago!" I said shocked that I had missed it.

"Yeah or your fuckin' blind." He laughed

"Yeah whatever, dick sucker." I teased

The gallery was really small, and it didn't look like it had much to offer, if fact it looked a little out of place in the huge square. Kinda like me and Adrian. I walked in and looked around, the art was nice I guess, but nothing seemed like it would shock my brother and then I saw it! I would have recognized that painting any where, it was a picture of a fiesta, painted by some Latina who's name I never remembered, the only thing I knew was that Tiny had printed out off the internet and hung it on his wall. He'd tried to copy it in his drawing books a couple times, but it was too small for him to see the details. This one was huge! It was 48 inches wide and 24 inches long, it was beautiful and Tiny would love it.

"That's nice, I think he'd like it." Adrian said coming up behind me.

"Yah he would." I said, I turned to the old Hispanic woman at the counter, "How much for this one?" I asked her

"That one, you want that one?" She asked

"Yeah, I'm asking about it aren't I?" I asked

"Yes of course, it's just that no ones looked at that one for a while. I'll give it to you for 30$" She said

"That's pretty cheap." I said as I handed her the cash.

That's a very old painting, not many people want it anymore, especially since it was the only real success of this particular artist." She said as she began to wrap the painting. "I'm surprised you want it, may I ask why?"

"It's for my brother, he likes art. He has a tiny print out of this in his room and he's always talking about the painter, said she's from queens like us, and that she's Latina. He loves this one." I said while she finished wrapping it.

"Well I hope he enjoys it then, you must be a very good sister." She handed me the wrapped painting, "Have a wonderful holiday."

"You too" I said before walking out side

"Adrian?" I said looking around, I swore he was just here, where the hell did he go?

I checked back in the art store but he wasn't there and outside no one in the crowds of people was Adrian. I was gonna kill him for ditching me in the middle of NYC!

_Fucking dick, I'm gonna kill you, Adrian!_ I thought as I walked towards the street.

"Diana!" I heard

"Adrian?" I asked looking at him, "Where the hell did you go?"

"I said I was gonna find a bathroom, didn't you hear me?" He asked

"No! You were gone for almost 20 minutes, what the hell were you doing in the damn bathroom for 20 minutes?" I asked not buying it

"I kinda got lost, and when I got back to the art place, you were gone!" He said loudly

"I was looking for you." I said

"Oh well I was looking for you." He laughed

"You found me." I laughed a little.

"I did." He said

Like always he leaned in a little and let me come to him. Slowly he kissed me softly, sucking on my bottom lip and slipping his tongue into my mouth.

"Are we going back now?" I asked him?

"Not unless you want to." He said

I shook my head no. I wanted to walk around and see the city, plus I still had Christmas presents to find.

"Okay, let's go see what else they've got around here." He said

For the next two hours we strolled around like we owned the place. Hand in hand I led Adrian from shop to shop looking for the perfect present for Marisol, finally deciding on a bracelet from a little boutique and a hot iron for her to straighten her hair with. Adrian and I laughed as he spoke to a Cuban street vendor who knew little English, both of our Spanish was rusty so it was pretty funny. We had a blast.

We were walking back to the Plaza when he stopped me.

"Look at that." He said pointing at a pretty gold dress in a shop window

"I don't think it comes in your size." I said laughing.

"Your funny," He said sarcastically, "Not for me, for you, it would look good on you." He said

"Sorry, have you finally gone loco? It's a freaking cocktail dress, where the fuck would I go in that." I asked looking at him like he was crazy.

"The gym's Christmas party, it's always a formal event, you should wear that." He said

"Hell no, I would look ridiculous." I said

"Only one way to know that for sure," He said with a mischievous grin, "go try it on."

"Over my dead body." I said starting to walk off

He caught my hand and dragged me back to the dress shop.

"Try it on please." He said, "If you hate it we won't ever talk about it again, please?"

"Fine, but it's gonna look stupid." I stated matter of factly

After Adrian spoke to the woman at the counter, she undressed the manikin and showed me to the changing area. I looked at the dress, it was a pretty light bronze almost gold color, with a dangerously low back and halter straps.

I slithered into it and tied the straps looking in the mirror. I actually looked really good, it hugged my curves perfectly, and made my Dominican and Puerto Rican features stand out perfectly.

"You gonna come out and let us see it?" The sales woman asked

"Um… I guess." I said opening the door

"OH MY!" she gasped, "It was made for you, you just must have it!"

"It's nice." I agreed

"I believe the young gentleman outside would like to see how it fits?" she offered taking pulling me towards the door. I hesitated a little when I walked through it, this was definitely not my normal style.

"Adrian?" I said

He was talking to a sales man and hadn't seen me walk through.

"Wow!" He said

"Is it too… odd looking?" I asked pulling at the bottom of the dress

"It'd gorgeous, you look amazing." He said, "We should get it."

"How much is it?" I asked quietly

"it's on sale, 300$." The woman smiled

I looked at Adrian, a 300 dollar dress wasn't something that existed in our world. In queens a 300$ dress was considered a waist of money, and completely ridiculous.

"It's a very nice dress, but I don't think it'll work. Thank you for letting me see it though." I said

I took the dress off and handed it over the door to the sales woman who took it quietly. I put my clothes and boots back on and walked out. Adrian was holding all the bags and Tiny's picture, so I tried to take some of them from him.

"I've got the bags baby," He said jerking them away from my hand, "Why don't you take the picture thought, it'll be the easiest for you to carry."

_Easiest for me to carry, what the hell kind of bullshit was that? I'm not some powder puff. _I thought

"I can carry some of the bags Adrian." I said as we left the dress shop.

"I know you can, I just want to okay?" He said

"Fine by me." I said

We got back to the hotel as the sun set and the temperature dropped.

"You wanna go to dinner or just call it a night?" He asked me

"I don't know, you tired?" I asked

"Yeah, a little, maybe we can just call for dinner?" He asked

"Yeah that sounds good, what do you want?" I scanned the menu next to the phone and decided on a burger quickly.

"They got stake?" He asked

"Not for you." I chuckled

"Why can't I have a stake? I'm hungry." He whined

_So are starving children in Africa, what's his point_ the snarky voice said

"You wanna make your weight don't you?" I asked him

"I'll do double work out's when we get back, my next fight's not till after the New Year." He begged

"You'll be sorry when Cal has you running 8 miles just to drop a few pounds that you wouldn't have if you left the stake alone." I said tossing him the menu

"I'll let you say you warned me." He offered

"Fine, eat the stake." I laughed

"YES!" He cheered

I laughed as I waited for the kitchen to answer the phone.

"Hello, how may I help you." A man asked

"Can I get a bacon cheese burger, make it a deluxe, and a 16oz. filet mignon with mashed potatoes." I asked trying to sound polite

"Yes ma'am, is there anything else I can get for you Mrs. Abru?" The man asked

"Um no thank you that's all." I said before hanging up the phone.

"What's the wait?" Adrian asked plopping down on the love seat in front of the fire place.

"I don't know, about an hour I guess." I said fidgeting with my hand

"What the hell, it's gonna take an hour to make a burger and a medium rare stake? He asked

"I don't know it was just a guess." I said not really paying him much attention

_He called you Mrs. Abru! You should be ecstatic! _The voice so tenderly chimed in

"What's the matter baby?" He asked looking at me puzzled

"Nothing, just thinking." I said walking over to the love seat.

"Come here." He commanded pulling me down so that I was lying on top of him.

"What happened to no monkey business?" I asked laughing

"We're not doing anything that would break that rule." He laughed

"For now." I said under my breath

"What?" He asked, obviously I wasn't as quiet as I thought I was

"I didn't say anything." I stated

"Yes you did, you said something real soft, what was it?" He prodded

"I said for now." I sighed trying to get him off my back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked looking lost

"Figure it out." I said

The look on his face was priceless, as I hopped off of him and sauntered my way into the bedroom, switching my hips as I did. I sure hoped he was watching

I grabbed my bag and pulled out my sleep clothes and shower stuff. As the hot water hit my shoulders I pondered a way to tell Adrian. I wanted him to tell me he loved me, better yet, to show me, I wanted Adrian to make love to me. I just needed to figure out how to tell him.

**Adrian's POV**

Diana was gonna drive me crazy with all that walking around and whispering shit in that husky voice of hers. I mean I knew what she wanted, hell what we both wanted, but I couldn't defy Cal. I guess I was kinda afraid, they say that love kills you in the ring, and I didn't want to see my feelings for Diana ruin either of us. She was good I had to admit, and being tied to me would only cause her more problems. Yet still, we both wanted to be together. So here we were, in New York City in early December, at the plaza hotel, in the most beautiful suite I could find, with the girl of my dreams in the shower, and an engagement ring in my pocket. I wanted Diana Gusman more than anything in the world, but I was still afraid of what being with me could do to her.

_Knock Knock_ "Room Service." A voice called through the front door.

"Coming!" I replied

I rushed to the door just as Diana came out of the bathroom in her sweats.

"Who's at the door?" She asked casually

"Just room service, they have our food baby." I said opening the door and letting the bell boy in

"Enjoy your dinner Mr. and Mrs. Abru." He said as he deposited the cart full of food and left.

Mrs. Abru, I liked the sound of that. It sounded right, me and Diana were right together.

"STEAK!" I shouted as the smell of meat hit me

"You're crazy you know that." She asked me laughing

She picked up her platter and walked over to the couch next to the fireplace and in front of the TV.

"Let's watch a movie." She said

I only nodded cutting into my precious stake and shoving pieces into my mouth. Trust me when you're a 22 year old dude and you're tryna stay under 150 lbs it's not easy, and you stop eating a lot of things you like, like steak!

"What do you wanna see Adrian?" She asked me

"Scarface?" I asked, and she nodded

Scarface was our favorite movie, I don't really know why but it seems to capture both of us for some reason, I can remember the first time we saw it together.

*Flashback*

"_Diana. Diana!" I called to her as she walked towards the bus stop_

"_What are you doing here Adrian?" She asked surprised to see me_

"_I have no clue, and again I feel pretty stupid waiting for school to get let out." I joked hugging her close to me._

"_You don't have to work today?" She asked me _

"_Nah, I actually just left Cal's place. You want a ride home?" _

"_Yeah sure, if you don't mind." She smiled_

_God I loved that smile. She was always scowling or smirking, it was rare to see her smile. God, but when she did, it was magic._

"_You're my girl, 'course I don't mind." I whispered kissing her sweetly _

_We sat silently in the car for a while, she was so silent and so chill._

"_How was school today baby?" I asked her_

"_It was crap, as usual why?" She scoffed_

"_I don't know, you always look so bummed when you leave" I said_

"_How would you know what I look like when I leave? You followin' me of something?" she laughed_

"_No, it's just ya know when I gotta run errands or something and I happen to drive by." I weakly defended_

"_You know stalking is a felony right?" She laughed harder now_

"_Yeah, yeah whatever." I said pulling up in front of her building._

"_Well I'm just saying." She teased, "Wanna come up with me?" _

"_Your dad home?" I asked, her pops wasn't to crazy about me, and from what I heard from her and Tiny about him, he wasn't someone I wanted to get to know. _

"_Nah, he's over at his friend Edwards house playing poker. He's probably gonna get trashed and stay there." She replied casually_

"_What about Tiny?" I asked her_

"_He's at some math geek thing, he'll be home around 7 I think." She said _

"_Yeah, alright I'll come up, but no monkey business." I warned her_

_She always tried to push my will at this one, see if she could get me to give in to my desire to ravish her. She was hard to resist, but I had to. She was to special to just take any old way. _

_We walked into her apartment and I looked around. It was smaller then I'd imagined. I realized that as many times as she'd been in my house I'd never been in hers._

"_Wanna watch a movie?" She asked me_

"_Sure," I replied, "Whatcha got?" _

_She opened a little cabinet near the TV and showed me the large collection of videos. I looked at them, none really catching my eye, until I saw it, the last of the bunch. Scarface!_

"_That one." I said pointing to it_

"_That's my favorite movie." She laughed_

"_Mine too." I said joining her on the couch as it started to play. _

_I spent the night at her place that night. It was the first time I felt like she was for sure 100% mine._

*End of Flashback*

"Adrian?" She asked as we lay on the couch with her head on top of my chest watching the movie.

"What's-a-matter baby?" I asked

**Diana's POV**

The second the words left his mouth I covered his mouth with mine kissing him passionately. He was shocked for only a moment before his arms came around me, holding me close and kissing me back. I felt my stomach turn and my head spin.

Pulling back for air I looked at him. "Let's go to bed." I said looking him dead in the face, it wasn't a suggestion.

He picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist, bringing his mouth back to mine as he began to kiss me once again. He walked us to the bedroom kicking the door shut behind us.

"You're gonna get me into so much trouble." He said teasing me as he crawled on top of me.

I laughed into his mouth as he began kissing me again. My body tingled as he ran his hands all over me. He kissed my neck and my breath caught in my throat, slowly he made his way down, Leaving kisses on my shoulders, along my collar and over the top of my chest.

I tugged at his shirt, finally pulling it up over his head and throwing it off to the side of me somewhere. He laughed as I flipped us over so that I was straddling his waist.

"You're very mean Adrian." I said as I kissed his neck, licking along his jaw line. I moved down to his chest kissing my way down along his muscles. I flicked my tongue long the waist band of his jeans and smiled as he groaned in anticipation.

_Torture him. _The voice said

"You want it baby?" I asked cupping his package through his jeans.

"Diana." He growled at me.

Slowly I undid his jeans, dragging them down and tossing them off into the forming pile of clothes. Next went his boxers, I played with the waist band a bit before dragging them off of him to reveal his swollen member.

_Holy Shit! _The voice screamed, _that thing is huge!_

I heard him chuckle at my reaction.

"You didn't think I'd show up to the fight without my sword did you?" He joked making me blush.

I felt him tug at my hand, he brought me up to my mouth to his.

"Now," He said in between kisses, "You are wearing way too many clothes."

He worked on my pants first, untying the drawstring and pulling them down. Next went my shirt, his mouth only left mine for a brief second as he tossed it off into the pile and began to work on my bra. He unhooked it and slid it off my arms.

I felt odd now as he stared at my chest. Slowly he began to kiss my neck again, moving his lips down my chest and stopping to suck on my right nipple.

"Adrian!" I gasped in pleasure

He smirked a little as he continued to suck, after a while moving on to the left. His hands slowly began to take my panties off, and once they were I could feel his hand cupping me.

"You like that baby?" He asked as he stroked my nub with his thumb

"Oh GOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!" I moaned as he slipped a finger into my entrance

I felt my inner muscles tighten around his digits as he added another finger. It was better than anything I could dream up, pure ecstasy.

My body began to tremble and a tingling started in my stomach. As his hand pumped in and out of me the tingle traveled lower and lower until it met with the area his fingers stroked.

"ADRIAN! I'M…" I moaned as a mind numbing orgasm rocked my whole body.

"That's it baby, just like that." He said as he pulled his hand away from my body and brought his hand to his mouth to clean it.

He brought his mouth to mine, licking my bottom lip and begging me to allow his tongue to enter. His kisses held so much passion that I thought they would melt my body.

I spread my legs a little as I felt his hardened member prodding my center.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" He whispered against my lips.

"I've never been more sure of anything." I assured him

He plunged him self into me and I nearly lost it. The instant pain made me gasp. Adrian paused for a second to let me adjust before he started to rock. At first the slow steady thrusts were enough, but as time wore on I wanted more.

"Harder!" I moaned

He complied easily increasing his speed as the tingle in my stomach began to build. His thrusts increased and the pleasure became almost unbearable.

"Adrian, I think I'm gonna cum!" I screamed

He pushed on as I fell over the edge in yet another mind blowing orgasm. I trembled as I felt him fill me with his warm liquid.

* * *

**Wow! first Lemon ever, that was very hard to write! okay, let me know what you guys think!**


	4. Back To Reality

Back To Reality 

We had finished our Manhattan excitement and were now leaving our lavish life behind. As we rolled down the highway I relaxed into myseat thinking about everything that had happened since we'd arrived. I was engaged! I was no longer "pure" as most would say. I was different. For that period of time it didn't matter to me that my father was a miserable drunk, and that my brother and I were suffering the consequences of his reckless behavior. Everything was good that weekend, I just wish I sensed the major disaster that was coming.

We pulled up to my building around 7 that night. The drive had been so long , yet it seemed to pass by so quickly.

"I gotta go baby." Adrian said leaning in and giving me a quick kiss, "Answer your cell, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." I said getting out of the car.

He waved as he pulled off towards his project.

_You better pray that Sandro is home! _The voice warned

"I know, I know." I said under my breath

I climbed the winding staircase and let my self into the dark apartment. Letting out the breath I'd been holding at the sight of the seemingly empty apartment.

Suddenly the light in the TV room clicked on, making my heart freeze in my chest. My father sat on the couch staring at me with cold eyes.

"Where the hell have you been all weekend Diana?" He asked, I could tell by his voice that he was angry. It was gonna be a long night.

"I went to the city." I said trying to inch my way towards the hallway that led to my room.

"Oh yeah, with who?" He asked

"Marisol and a few other people." I lied

"You go to Manhattan with that boy?" he asked me

"Adrian?" I asked. I was stalling. I didn't want to stick around for his beating and verbal shit but I wasn't about to run from him. I needed a plan and fast.

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I GIVE A FUCK WHAT HIS NAME IS DIANA!?" He screamed jumping out of his seat.

"Yeah he came with us dad, why does it matter?" I said frustrated.

"Did you have sex with that fucking pendejo when you were with him?" he asked his voice deadly calm again.

"No." I lied again

"YOU FUCKING LIAR! Is that what you've been doing this whole time Diana? Sleeping with some asshole who doesn't even give a damn about you?" He shouted lunging forward and shaking me by my shoulders with each word.

"NO! shut up, you don't even know what the hell your talking about!" I screamed shoving him off of me.

His eyes flashed with anger for a moment before traveling down to the hand that was holding my duffel, my left hand. Recognition dawned on his face and the anger returned to his eyes.

"What the hell is that?" He asked pointing to my hand

"What?" I asked

"The fucking ring, what the hell is it?" He asked me again

"Well I don't know why your asking you just answered your own question, it's a ring." I replied sarcastically

"Don't get smart with me, you little slut! You think your gonna marry him, is that it? What did he get you pregnant or something?" He asked me laughing mockingly

"I am gonna marry him, and I'm gonna get the hell out of here, and far away from you!" I shouted pissed at him

"You're not going no where you little slut, he's gonna find something better and drop your ass on the curb. You think your something? You think he loves you? Ha! He doesn't love you, no one does, your worthless and unimportant, a mistake that your mother should have taken with her to her fucking grave." He ranted

I felt his words puncture my soul. My mother was a sore spot with me, and my father knew that. Everything he said played over and over in my head until I couldn't deal with it any more. Against my strongest will tears began to fall from my eyes. Never had I cried in front of my father, and never had I hated him as much as I did at that moment.

He seemed taken aback by my tears. As if he expected me to fight him, to scream to keep going. I watched his face portray so many emotions at once as he watched me cry. Anger came and went quickly, and it was replaced by sorrow, then came pain, followed by compassion, remorse and then finally fear.

"Diana?" Tiny asked shaking me from my daze. He looked concerned and confused as he walked into the house, returning from his weekend of fun.

"Tiny, go to your room." My father said

"No." Tiny replied firmly

"Tiny I said to go to your room that means you go now." Dad tried again

Tiny shook his head no, standing his ground. My father looked shocked. Tiny was afraid of him, he never disobeyed his orders, yet here he was insisting that he was gonna stay here in the middle of our argument.

"What did you do to her?" Tiny asked. The rage that came out with his words scared even me as I tried to stop the tears.

"Nothing." My father lied

"If it's nothing then why is she crying?" Tiny said raising his voice.

Never had I heard Tiny yell and our dad. He'd tried to man up in front of dad and hold his ground in front of him before, but normally when dad gave him an order Tiny would back off and do as he was told.

"It's none of your god damn business now go to your room before I…"

"Before you what?" Tiny shouted cutting dad off mid sentence, "fucking kill me? Go ahead, it won't be the first persons blood you have on your hands."

My father looked as though he'd just been slapped. His eyes found me as I had just managed to suppress the tears.

"You are both out of control." He said picking up his beer and downing the half full bottle in one long pull.

My eyes widened as I watched Tiny walk up to my father and knock the bottle right out of his hands.

"No dad." He said with so much venom he could have made a snake recoil, "You are out of control."

The look on my fathers face was one I had never seen before. Slowly he walked to the door. Giving us a last look over his shoulder he opened it and left.

I felt the lump in my throat swelling up again as the tears returned for the second time that night. I sank down onto the floor and curled up into a small ball.

"_he's gonna find something better and drop your ass on the curb." _ My fathers words rang in my head

"_He doesn't love you, no one loves you!" _ I cringed and closed my eyes, as silent sobs made my whole body shake.

I have no idea how long I stayed there like that. I heard Tiny call my name several times, I heard him say he was gonna call someone to help me. I heard my phone ring and Tiny answer it. Not once though did I open my eyes. I was afraid to see my father, to hear his words again.

Slowly, after a while my fathers words started to fade from my memory. My tears stopped and I was able to sit up. A few minutes after that I managed to stand and walk over to the armchair.

"Diana?" Tiny said to me softly

"Do you think he's coming back?" I asked

"He'll be back, but that's not really a good thing." Tiny whispered handing me a glass of water.

"Why didn't you go to your room like always?" I asked. My voice was still raspy from all the crying

"He'd gone to far, he's pissed you off before sure, but anyone can do that. He's never pushed you to make you cry, I don't care what he thinks, he was wrong." Tiny said. It was then that I realized how grown up he was, how much he'd seen since mom died, he might not remember it, but he understood.

"Who called?" I asked

"Adrian, he went to pick his brother up from the Air Port, he's gonna take him back to his place and then he's gonna come over here."

"For what?" I asked

"Make sure your okay, you were on the floor for a long time, I thought you were hurt or something." Tiny said.

"I'm okay." I said looking at my little brother.

Tiny was so young when my mom passed, he barely remembered her, yet he was so much like her. Both were passive and obedient, simple minded, and able to find the good in every one, even dad. In fact Tiny and my mom were the only people who I had ever heard say that my father was a really good man.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by the sound of Tiny at the door.

Baby." Adrian said squatting in front of me. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just some stupid fight with my father." I said softly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked me

"I'm fine Adrian." I said with more conviction.

"Okay, do you wanna spend the night at my place, we're gonna have dinner with my brother, and my mom is gonna wanna meet you anyway." He said

"I don't wanna leave Tiny here by himself." I said honestly.

"Bring him, it'll be a real family get together, with my future wife and brother-in-law." He smiled

"Future… You two are getting married?" Tiny asked snatching my hand away from Arians face.

"Yeah." I said shyly

"Oh my god! What the hell are we doing here? Lets go to diner and celebrate," Tiny shouted

"My mom's cooking, she won't mind a few extra people." Adrian said

"Oh no, this is a huge occasion, let's go to Che Pasta!" Tiny said jumping around and grabbing things from his duffel

"How you plan to afford that?" I asked incredulously

Tiny smiled at me and tossed me a black wallet. When I opened it I was shocked to see how much money it held, almost a thousand dollars.

"Dad's treat" He said grabbing his coat.

Adrian and I laughed and grabbed our things. My crazy brother beamed the whole way to Adrian's parents place like some kind of Idiot.

"Ma, I'm back!" Adrian called as he led us into the apartment

It was funny of all the times that I'd been here I'd never just walked in the door. Normally I crept in and straight down the hall like a criminal. It was nice to walk in and not have to be quiet.

"Quien es? Who's this?" She asked

"Ma, this is Diana and her little brother Tiny." Adrian said introducing us.

"You come here for dinner, no?" She said, her Puerto Rican accent thick

"Yes, but we're going out ma. They're father has offered to treat us to dinner at Che Pasta, since he couldn't join us." Adrian fibbed slightly

"That is wonderful, but por que?" she asked

"We're celebrating!" Tiny said happily

"Ma, Diana and I, we're gonna get married" Adrian said

"Dios Mio!" She gasped her eyes filling with tears.

I watched as Adrian's father and brother joined her in gasps. His older brother surveyed my left hand closely and his eyes bulged at sight of my ring.

"Well I'll be damned, who would have thought that Adrian would be the first to get married!" He said coming over to hug Adrian and then me.

"I'm Carlos, Age's big brother. You must be the one who he sneaks in and out of the house every week." He said to me as he hugged me

"I… um yeah that's me." I blushed

"And I'm his younger brother, I'm Santiago, but you can call me San." He said

"Hey." I replied

"Well, seeing as how you're apparently gonna be my daughter-in-law I guess I should introduce my self." Said the oldest of the three men in the family room, "I'm Carlos Sr, known as Senior to my boys, and this very shocked woman here is my wife, Esmeralda. It's sure a pleasure to meet you Diana."

He offered his hand and I shook it lightly.

"My god!" His mother exclaimed, "I'm going to have a daughter? A daughter, dios mio, los santos must be smiling down on me."

I laughed a little at her as she ran around the small apartment praising los santos and grabbing coats for her boys. She seemed so good natured.

We split up in two cars. Carlos, Senior, and Esmeralda in Seniors car, and Adrian, Tiny, San, and I in the other. San was in the military and had come home from his post in the Dominican Republic for Christmas.

"So Diana, you look like you have some of that Latina fire in you, what are you?" San asked as we turned onto the main road.

"Puerto Rican and Dominican, my dad was born in Santo Domingo, and my mother's parents moved over from Puerto Rico in the 30's." I said

"That's pretty cool, so your pop's is working tonight or something?" He asked

I looked at Adrian, who smiled reassuringly. He knew I hated the whole 21 questions thing that people used to get to know each other.

"Yeah something like that. He wanted us to celebrate the engagement though." I lied. And he nodded

We pulled up to the restaurant and were escorted to a large booth in the back corner. The whole place looked like one of those parties that I can remember my mother taking our family to, back when things were fun. They used to play loud salsa music and she would dance with my father, back when I called him papa. She would dance with me and Tiny too, not many people knew it, but I was a very good dancer, better then most girls in town. But that was before, before mom and dad went down hill, before my family began to unravel. Being in that restaurant, it made me remember just how much fun things were. It made me remember.

"Diana, you alright honey?" Esmeralda asked me

"Yes ma'am, I'm fine." I smiled and slid in closer to Adrian.

We chatted lightly as the waitress came and took our orders, sure to flirt with Carlos in the process.

"You can see why we're shocked that Adrian is the one to first marry." Senior said laughing as the waitress left.

"Yeah you been slayin' 'em huh big guy?" I laughed at Carlos

"What can I say," He gloated, "the ladies find me fascinating, but I know you're my baby bro's girl, so I'll turn down the charm for you little bella."

I rolled my eyes.

"Bro, it's that attitude that can't keep a girlfriend for more than a few month's." Adrian joked

I laughed again.

The food came quickly, which was a surprise to me since the place was packed. We ate and laughed as the house band played. Senior and Esmeralda even got up on the dance floor for an old salsa tune.

I smiled as the song changed, I recognized it immediately as the intro began. From the look on his face I could tell that tiny did too.

"Is this el doctorado?" He asked me

"Yeah, you remember this song?" I laughed

"Yeah, mom and papi used to dance it right?" He said

"Yeah, mom loved this song, you remember how to dance it?" I asked him

"Yeah, why?"

"Dance with Esmeralda." I said

Tiny surprised me, he actually stood up and offered the older woman his hand for a dance. He could salsa that boy, she was in for the dance of her life.

"You salsa?" Adrian asked me

"What me? No I don't dance." I lied

"Oh, well that's okay, I'll teach you, come on." He said sliding out of the booth.

"Adrian, I really don't want to." I said.

"It'll be fine, come on every one learns sometime. You got Puerto Rican in those veins baby, it'll come natural." He said.

Reluctantly I stood and took his hand, as we made our way over to the dance floor I saw Tiny watching me. It'd been years since that kid's seen me dance.

As the first verse of the song sped up I began to move with Adrian. My hips spun to the salsa beat with such grace and fluidity you would have never thought I was a boxer. Adrian's shock at my skill showed on his face as he twirled me around and moved in time with me. As a lady I let him lead laughing inside, mama had always been a better dancer then my dad, but she would never push him around the dance floor, she let him lead and I let Adrian.

"You lied to me." He laughed as we moved together.

"I said I didn't dance, I didn't say I couldn't." I smirked

"You're very good at this, where'd you learn?" He asked

"In the streets outside my house." I said

When the song came to an end we returned to the booth.

"Well Adrian, it's official you are a miracle worker." Tiny said

"Why?" Adrian asked with a confused look on his face.

"You got Diana to dance, do you know how long it's been since I've seen her dance?" Tiny beamed

"No, how long?" He asked

"Well gee, since mama." He said

"Oh yes Diana, where is your mother this evening?" She asked

"Brooklyn state cemetery," I said earning odd looks from the whole table, "She passed away when I was really young. Our neighborhood has block parties all the time, and she used to take us. Her and my father used to dance, and she used to salsa with Tiny and me, when she died we stopped going to the parties, not much of a reason for me to dance any more."

"You're mother must have been beautiful." Esmeralda said sadly reaching over to grab my hand

I'm not sure why, but he small gesture warmed me. Esmeralda was so sweet and her family had accepted us in a matter of hours. I felt at peace here. Yet something was missing, that one thing to make me whole.

"Well if you think Diana is beautiful then mama was, they look just alike, down to the eyebrows." Tiny chirped trying to lighten the mood, everyone laughed

"Have you guys given any thought to the wedding details yet?" Esmeralda asked

"Mama, give them 24 hours at least before you and dad start liquidating retirement funds huh?" San teased

"Actually, I wanted a small wedding." I said, to be honest it was the first time I had ever even thought about a wedding but hey now that it was on the table why not dream a little.

"Small?" Esmeralda asked

"Yeah, in the church on 72nd street, it's where my parents got married, it was small, but it was so beautiful. I want it to be simple." I stated

Adrian smiled down at me.

"That's perfect baby, that's just where we'll have it, and it'll be perfect." He smiled

I smiled. This wedding would be real, a dream would turn into a reality.


End file.
